ALTHOUGH it took him over a decade to reach the promised land, the pilgrimage will continue for Conor Cleary.
The veteran full-back had to undergo surgery on the shoulder injury he sustained in last summer’s All-Ireland final victory over Cork.
But Cleary, who turned 31 this week, had no hesitation in signing up for a 12th season of senior inter-county hurling.
On the prospect of retirement, he said: “The break has really refreshed me. Things like that haven’t come into my head at all, to be honest.
“I’m genuinely really enjoying going to training, playing the games and I suppose it’s a great period to be a Clare hurler at the moment with the standard of player we have on the panel and the opportunities we’ve got over the last couple of years.”
Cleary’s twin brother Eoin is back on the beat with the Clare footballers, having opted out last season to address injury issues while also spending some time abroad.
For Conor, whose girlfriend Louise Griffin is also raising the Banner at senior level, the hurlers’ celebratory trip to the US scratched the travel itch.
Asked about the temptation to take time out, he said: “No, not really. I’m lucky too that my girlfriend Louise plays inter-county football for Clare.
“And that does help me in the sense that I’m not being put under huge pressure to travel because she has her own goals and ambitions with the Clare ladies team as well.
“From a personal point of view, I got to see a lot of the world in November time with the team holiday and I was over for a few days before it as well.
“I suppose staying with the hurling has given me experiences like that too to see the world, which I wouldn’t have got if I did take years out and things like that.”
Clare were newly-minted All-Ireland champions when Davy Fitzgerald added Cleary to the senior set-up ahead of the 2014 season.
Notwithstanding the semi-final replay loss to Galway in 2018.
The Kilmaley man admits there were doubts about his chances of landing a Celtic Cross until Brian Lohan finally led them to Liam MacCarthy Cup glory in his fifth season in charge.
Cleary explained: “I came in right after they won the All-Ireland. I suppose you think, maybe naively as a young lad, that this is going to happen every year or every few years.
“There were a lot of tough years. I suppose 2018 was a high for the group, getting so close to an All-Ireland final.
“But in 2019 we were brought back down to earth very quickly and you were kind of thinking, ‘Will it ever happen?’ because you were just at such a low ebb having been well beaten by Tipperary and Limerick in the Munster Championship.
“A lot of the credit has to go to Brian. Not a lot of people would have taken us at that stage in 2019, 2020 and he just brought a huge amount of energy to it and responsibility.
“When he first came in, there was an awful lot of work to do in the fact that we lost to Limerick heavily in the Munster Championship in 2020.
“I suppose it would have been hard to believe. You always try to believe that you’d win an All-Ireland. There were a lot of tough years but it just shows the value of perseverance and keeping going.
“It’s definitely something I’ve learned from the year anyway because at times when you’re playing you think it might never happen. But all you can really do is keep going and keep giving your best..”
After starting their Allianz League title defence with a defeat to Kilkenny, Clare will aim to bounce back when they travel to Galway next weekend.
But with one eye on the Munster SHC opener against Cork on April 6, Cleary is unlikely to feature as he continues his rehab.
He said: “I’m kind of taking it week by week, to be honest.
“With physios and stuff, you have different targets to meet and I’m not quite there yet but they’re happy enough with the progress at the moment.”
